Because it's nice to know what
other spinners think about a fiber you haven't
yet tried, welcome to the Knittyspin Fiber
Fiesta feature! Each type of fiber is tested
by up to 5 average spinners, each with a different
background and level of experience. Each spinner
is provided with the same amount of fiber,
and each spinner spins, plies, finishes and
knits each fiber as it speaks to them. Their
feedback is collected on a standardized form
and summarized below. New! Follow
one spinner's comments all through each review,
right up to the yarn they spun and swatch they
knit.

Fiber that did not receive good feedback
will not be featured in Knitty, in accordance
with our review policy, so if a fiber
is featured here, it means the majority of
spinners liked it!

Retail prices are in USD.

Our spinners this issue:

Spinner

Spinning
how long?

What do you
spin on?

What is your favorite thing you've made from your handspun?

A

About 7 years

Majacraft Rose

My Traveling Woman shawl made out of BFL/Silk Lynne Vogel colorway singles. The yarn was so beautiful I had to knit something right away. The shawl showcases the colorway beautifully, plus it's super soft.

C

Approx. 19 years.
I started knitting when my oldest was 1
and then I wanted to make my OWN yarn.
It was a logical next step to start spinning.

Schacht Cherry Matchless,
Louet S75

Socks from handpainted superwash BFL - they were my first socks from handspun and the color repeat matched as if I had planned it that way - totally a happy accident

CK

I've been spinning for 2
1/2 years

Schacht Matchless and Ladybug, Jensen Tina II

Is this a trick question? I have a shawl that I love, but I never wear it because it has mohair in it and it makes me itch terribly. There’s the sweater I’m in the process of making for which I am in deep love with the yarn, but has yet to be knit because I can’t finish the spinning.

E

I have been spinning in
my imagination for about 45 years. My secret
wish was granted about 5 years
ago

Schacht Matchless

Sweaters.

J

Started 15 years ago, took
a big hiatus (8 years?), obsessively spinning
for the past 7 years.

Schacht Matchless, Schacht
Sidekick, Majacraft Suzie Pro

Shawls and hats, working my way up to a sweater

K

About 12 years.

Schacht Matchless that I
use to spin singles and my first wheel,
a Louet S51 DT, for all my plying needs.

Shawls of many colors and fibers mixed to make a unique piece of wearable art.

R

I've been spinning about
18 months but in the last 4 to
5 months mainly.

Schacht Matchless

Small beautiful things.

Three Waters FarmMy approach to color is intuitive, responsive, and relational. Often, while working, I feel like I am at the center of a vibrant, colorful conversation. In those moments, I am dyeing of happiness!

Fiber

polwarth 85%/ silk 15%

Color

Fall Foliage Series

Weight

4 oz

Put
up

top

Price

$22.95

#
of spinners

5

overall
impression

E: Awesome sauce, stunning colorway. I would like a couple of pounds in my spinning basket right this minuteCK: These are my colors. Nothing makes me happier than a lovely orange braid.J: Beautiful color, spectacularly puffy and softK: Really beautiful colors and the feel is to die forR: Color is inventive and sophisticated and fiber is soft yet holds shape well

E: I stripped the roving in two and spun it up end to endCK: I split the braid in half. The first half I split again and spun from the end. The second half I split into quarters. I wanted a gradual color change with a minimum of barber pole. No entirely successful, but I’m really happy with the resulting yarn.J: stripped it into 8, spun exaggerated thick and thinK: Split in half lengthwise, spun one half end to end, the other divided into 3 lengthwise sections and spun them end to endR: short forward draw

how did you
ply it?

E: 2 plyCK: 2 plyJ: singleK: 2 plyR: 2 ply

WPI

E: 8CK: 9J: 5K: 9R: 10

how did you
finish it?

E: hot soak, cold soak, thwackity thwack, hung to dry on the fence in the sunCK: rinse and whackJ: warm soak and hangK: hot soak and hangR: hot water

did
it do what you expected, or were you
surprised?

E: The colors once plied up are fantabulous. Love love love. The lights and the darks play really well with each other. And the red is grand.CK: I expected a little more fight from the silk. It’s a glorious blend and I was surprised at how easy it was to work with.J: I spun this thick and thin and misjudged the staple length a few times. There were spots that the thick drifted apart as I was winding offf, but I just spit spliced it together.K: It spun up very quickly and easily. I hardly had to fluff it at all.R: the colors made plying a delight

what
would you make with it?

E: I would make a sweater for me.CK: The drapiness of the knitted swatch made me swoon. Even my son said, "Hey! That’s really pretty!" I would absolutely love a lacey cardigan sweater to wear when it starts getting cold in the fall.J: a sweaterK: It would make yummy hats, mittens, scarves or a beautiful shaw -- anything you’d want to wear while crunching through the fall leaves.R: socks, hats, sweaters -- a very practical yarn

Neauveau Fiber ArtsThese batts contain wool from sheep named Fuzzybuns, Booger, Adele, and Juniper. A mix of medium and fine wools from New England, and some natural alpaca from small farms in Oregon where I grew up. I've also thrown in a little silk, carbonized bamboo, firestar, and angelina for sparkle and shine. I'm waiting for the day when sparkle will grow on trees.

Fiber

These batts contain wool from sheep named Fuzzybuns, Booger, Adele, and Juniper. A mix of medium & fine wools from New England, and some natural alpaca from small farms in Oregon where I grew up. I've also thrown in a little silk, carbonized bamboo, firestar, and angelina for sparkle and shine. I'm waiting for the day when sparkle will grow on trees

Weight

4 oz

Put
up

art batt

Price

$7.00/oz

#
of spinners

4

overall
impression

A:
great batt!C: it looks like a grab bag of fiberJ: I love this art batt so much I took two helpings and spun it two different ways.

how does it
feel?1: pot scrubber
5: baby’s bum

how
much predrafting needed?
1: a ton
5: none

how did it
spin?1: fought me like Moby Dick
5: aaaaaah

dye leak?1: lots
5: none

describe it
in a phrase

A: fun batt to spinC: not my cup of teaJ: festival of fun

how did you
spin it?

A: end to end worstedC: picked up bits and spun a thick and thin singleJ: loosened it a little and spun it fat low twist from end to end / corespun over handspun

how did you
ply it?

A: singleC: singleJ: n/a

WPI

A: 10C: 5J: 4 / 5

how did you
finish it?

A: soak & weighted hangC: warm bath, hangJ: soak and hang

did
it do what you expected, or were you
surprised?

A: I was surprised at how nicely it spun up and how much I like the knitted fabricJ: fantastic adventurous spin

what
would you make with it?

A: soft enough for mittens or a hatC: a pocket on a sweaterJ: hats, accents to bigger pieces, a super bulky cowl

A: practiced my long draw from the foldC: 1 thick and thin ply and 1 thin plyCK: I split the batt in half (widthwise) then split those halves in half. Then spun it as it came.J: Split the batt lengthwise into 4 strips, spun English long draw finer than usual for me. I was originally going to make this a three ply to make a round yarn, but got so caught up in the long draw, I forgot. I got he yarn to be rounder than the average 2-ply by over plying slightly.

A: Spun up easily and nicely. Iit was a soft and cushy batt that made soft and cushy yarn.C: There were parts of the batt that were a little compacted making it harder to draft than I expected.CK: It spun a lot finer than I expected. I was able to get it quite small without trying very hard. I love smooth yarns and with a batt it’s rare to get something so well prepared that a smooth yarn is the result.J: it was a tiny bit compacted around the edges. I spun it long draw and there were a few thick spots that wouldn't have happened if I had prefluffed the edges

what
would you make with it?

A: soft and cozy mittens or hatC: hat, scarf, anything soft yummy yarn makesCK: I would love to make socks from this batt. It wanted to be spun up incredibly finely and a cabled yarn from this batt would be wonderful.J: scarf to snuggle

Two Sisters StringworksTwo Sisters Stringworks is about making a place for handwork. I provide beautiful, handmade supplies for knitting, spinning, crochet, weaving, and felting.

C: semi worsted short backward drawE: worstedK: Split in half lengthwise, spun one half from one end to the other, divided the other half into four lengthwise sections and spun each from one end to the otherR: short forward draw. The fiber is stocky but still easy to draft

C: I tried heavy worsted, but I didn’t like the feel of it at that weight, so I spun fingering weight, which I liked much better.K: It spun like a dream, basically just sat and spun it upR: the kemp in fiber was new to me – there wasn’t a lot and it was easy to remove, if you wanted.

Hello Purl Hello Purl is the collaboration of two very fun fiber artists, Melissa Bohrtz and Jessie Nordholm. We love working with fiber in dying, carding, spinning, knitting and felting. Just give us some fiber and we’ll put our spin on it!

Fiber

blue-faced leicester

Color

Flowers Bloom

Weight

8 oz

Put
up

top

Price

$4/oz

#
of spinners

4

overall
impression

A:
a nice spinE: subdued cloud of colors. Soft and muted BFLK: so pretty, and such subtle color blending. R:
color is glowing, pastel with out being cloying

A: end to end worstedE: After splitting and fluffing and predrafting I spun it straight up from end to end. I was aiming for a bulky fluff with a nice tight-ish twist.K: Split in half lengthwise, spun one half from one end to the other, the other half divided into pencil roving pieces and spun randomlyR:
short forward draw

A: surprised at how nicely the colors blendedE: The colors once knit were gently subduedK: I really loved the placement of the colors on the wool and worked hard to have my yarn reflect the look of the roving. It needed some fluffing but once that was done, it spun like a dream. R:
the spinning was unsurprising but I was surprised that when I knit my first swatch with a textured stitch -- all the natural luster of the fiber was lost

what
would you make with it?

A: anything – hat sweater, mittens, cowlK: It could be anything but I would make beautiful shawls with itR:
baby outfit, hat, lacy sweater